


The Hybrid

by molmcmahon



Series: Creatures of War [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Brainwashing, Crossover, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Harry is a werepire, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-12
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-01-19 03:12:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1453294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/molmcmahon/pseuds/molmcmahon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maria Hill calls in a neutral third party to help their little group after discovering that SHIELD is compromised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Harry Potter or Captain America. There will definitely be spoilers for Winter Soldier here.

Harry was woken up innocuously one Thursday morning by knocking at his door. “Go away! It's too early for whatever shit you need tended to!”

“Potter!”

Harry groaned, turned around in bed, and blearily blinked his eyes open, glancing at the alarm clock. “Seriously? It's 5:00 in the morning, Maria!”

“It's urgent.”

He sighed and started to stretch then shuffled off the bed. Harry walked back to his bedroom and headed directly to the closet, shedding the quilt on the bed as he walked. He picked out his dragonhide armor and the usual clothes that he wore underneath it and went to go through with his morning routine. His stomach started to growl in the way it usually did when his body wanted blood so he hurried through brushing his teeth. He made sure to summon his wand before he went to open the door.

His senses alerted him to only one person on the other side of the door, one he knew pretty well. Agent Maria Hill, second in command of SHIELD. Though since Harry wasn't a SHIELD agent, he didn't know why she was here. And he knew it was her; each person had their own distinct smell.

He narrowed his eyes but opened the door nonetheless. Maria was standing there, suited up in SWAT gear for the Metro Police Department. He could smell stress coming from her but she didn't look stressed. Her arms were clasped behind her back, exuding confidence.He glanced past her to make sure there was no one after her and there were just the usual people going about their morning business. There was however, a SWAT van parked by the curb.

“What is it? The world better be ending.”

“Not quite,” Maria said, looking Harry over. “I have a message from Fury for you. For some reason, he trusts you.”

Harry sighed, being careful to not show any hint of fangs, and stepped aside to let her in. Maria strode in and stopped in the entrance hall of his apartment and handed him a phone.

Harry brought the phone up to his ear and listened, his eyes widening as he heard Fury talking.

“ _Potter, I know you're a freelancer but I know you welcome the Avengers if they are in need. You operate a safe house of sorts. I need your help now. SHIELD has been compromised._ _Listen to Agent Hill; she'll tell you what's going on_ _._ _Don't trust anyone else._ _”_

Harry sighed again and pocketed the phone. “So, SHIELD's been compromised, huh?”

Maria narrowed her eyes but nodded. “Yes. You need to go now, if we're going to pick up Rogers, Romanoff and Wilson.”

“'Pick up'?” Harry repeated, summoning the elder wand and pocketing that too. Since absorbing all of Voldemort's magic, wandless magic came much easier to him. Also, it helped that he was a hybrid werewolf and vampire; he was probably as strong as Captain America, maybe even stronger. He was fast too and if he wanted to, he could run so that almost no one could see him.

He peeked out the whole in the door, extended his magic and senses and nodded to himself.

“There's no threat out there,” Harry remarked. “So, what's the plan?”

“You're going to pick us up when I signal you,” Maria said. “Then we need to go to rendezvous point H.”

Harry snickered. “Have a lot of those kinds of locations then?”

Maria glared at him.

“Sorry. Go on,” Harry urged.

“Ever heard of the Winter Soldier? Or HYDRA?” Maria asked, glancing at the door like it was going to be broken down any minute.

“Oh, I've heard of him,” Harry responded. “He was sent to kill me a year or two back.”

Maria stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

“He clearly didn't kill me,” Harry said, waving his arms a little to emphasize his point.

“Okay, so you know him,” Hill said. “He killed Fury.”

“Whoa! Hold up--”

“He's obviously not dead,” Maria interrupted.

“Oh. Okay,” Harry said. “You and Fury. So dramatic.”

“This isn't a laughing matter,” Maria commented.

“Right. So HYDRA? I thought Rogers took them all out during the war,” Harry said.

“He didn't. SHIELD hired Dr. Zola during the war,” Maria muttered. “A bad move in my opinion but the past is in the past. He and others have infiltrated SHIELD.”

Harry gaped, his jaw dropping. “Okay. That... Does that mean HYDRA has... what exactly does that mean?”

“If you come into contact with any other SHIELD agents who aren't me or Fury, don't trust them. Well, you can trust the Avengers.”

“Okay, I can definitely pick you guys up,” Harry said. “Just tell me when and where.”

 

* * *

 

 

Harry watched as Maria took off in the stolen SWAT van and then closed the door to his apartment. He felt the wards automatically come on, hiding the apartment from any kind of tracking eyes then he strode over to where he usually parked his van. He had spent some time in a US military base and had taken a military vehicle when he left. He had remodeled it enough so that it was comfortable and so it didn't look like a military vehicle. Harry had also remodeled the interior, making it more comfortable for multiple people to sit in it.

There were guns placed throughout the car and a first aid kit in the front, along with a potion's kit. And a couple of extra wands that worked with him. So he was a little paranoid; he thought it was called for, especially after getting attacked by the assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Harry had apparently drawn attention to himself for whatever reason, a couple of years back. Though, looking back on it, suddenly coming out of nowhere and knowing the Avengers would probably have made him a high level target for some people. Now only a few select people knew about him and his... nature.

He jumped into the driver's seat and drove into the traffic of late morning Washington D.C. He swung by a popular sandwich place and picked up some food to go, getting three times as much food as he usually got. He could guess that the four of them would welcome food by the time that he picked them up. Harry placed the bag in the passenger seat and drove back out into traffic, following the tracking spell that he had placed on Agent Hill. He also glanced back at the interior of the van and sniffed while he was stopped at a red light to make sure there were enough potionsthen drove straight ahead when the light turned green.

After a few minutes, he could see a lot of commotion ahead. It was like a battle had taken place but since there wasn't too much destruction... Or cancel that. Cars were strewn everywhere and there was smoke floating through the air, causing some pedestrians to cough. Harry glanced down at the phone that Maria had given him and since she wasn't signaling him as of yet, he drove over to a convenient parking spot and turned the car off. He hopped down, turned on the wards around his car so it would look like a nondescript mini-van, instead of a military vehicle, then strode toward the battle zone.

He could definitely smell Captain Rogers had been here and Natasha but there were two other smells lingering which he did not recognize. There were of course the smells of the probable, possibly fake NYPD police officers that he could smell around the square. He sidestepped a few cars that were flipped over and one or two that were completely destroyed, discretely sniffing along path of the unique smell. Harry was slightly tempted to shift into his werewolf form and commit the smell to memory but there were people around.

Though as he came to where the smell was profound, it triggered something within him, a memory. Fighting off the Winter Soldier a few years ago, eventually just apparating the fuck out of where the Soldier had ambushed him. It wasn't like the Winter Soldier would have won; they were pretty evenly matched in strength, speed and reflexes. But for some reason, he hadn't wanted to kill the man; he had a look in his eyes that... Harry didn't know what it was or what it meant but it made something within himself hurt for the guy.

He was about to head back to his car when his stomach growled, louder than it had this morning. His stomach was still growling at him and it wasn't for food. He glanced around the plaza, looking for a suitable meal. His eyes caught on a lingering SHIELD officer and promptly dismissed him; though as he remembered what Maria had said, he pulled a little magic and skimmed the guy's thoughts. So not a SHIELD officer at all. It looked like Maria had been telling the truth; HYDRA had infiltrated it.

Harry strode over toward the 'SHIELD' officer, casually, and took on the look of a confused tourist.

“Excuse me, sir?” Harry asked, innocent tone and all as he stopped in front of the officer.

The officer turned to look at him, exuding annoyance and the desire to pull his gun on the probably irritating tourist. Pierce had just wanted him to clean up any evidence that might link them to HYDRA and to retrieve the weapon's mask.

Harry quirked an eyebrow at the alleged 'weapon' that the guy was thinking about and sighed inwardly. The guy had put an emphasis on weapon but... his thoughts had traveled to... the Winter Soldier?

“I was just coming from the National Mall--”

“Ugh. It's just a tourist,” the man whispered under his breath, clearly unaware that said 'tourist' was not human. And was hungry. “Your presence is not welcome here. Go take a bus or something.”

Harry was quite glad that the guy wasn't wearing glasses or anything keeping him from pulling on a part of his vampire magic. He could feel his fangs coming out and smirked toothily.

“ _You will come with me and not struggle. I am in need of a meal and you'll do nicely. I do not give a damn about HYDRA or it's minions. Though if you had been a SHIELD agent, I would have passed you by.”_

Harry watched as the guy's eyes became glazedand he led the guy over behind one of the nearest buildings. He flipped the guy to stand against the building, made sure to glamour the both of them, then reached out to grab ahold of the guy's neck, moving back the jacket and light armor and dug in. Though before his fangs hit the skin, he did lick a little over the skin to numb up the flesh. He moaned at the feeling of blood entering his mouth and filling his stomach then out of curiosity, he pulled some magic and explored the guy's memories while he was at it.

Harry startled and would have abruptly pulled out at the memories pertaining to the Winter Soldier. His heart started to race so he quickly drank all he wanted then pulled out, licking the skin again to aid in healing. Harry left the guy leaning against the wall while he thought through the memories that he had seen.

The Winter Soldier... had been brainwashed, tortured, drugged. Harry's stomach abruptly rebelled at one particular scene that the HYDRA agent had been witness to. He leaned up against the wall of the building while he let his body bring up what it wanted to.After he was sure that there was nothing else, he silently cast a banishing spell on the puke then turned to pace.

He thought that he had sensed something off when the two of them faced off against each other but he hadn't thought it would be this. Harry winced as one of the HYDRA agent's memories went racing past his eyes; someone had ordered this. He unknowingly let out a low growl, a mixture of both wolf and vampire coming to the fore. If his eyes hadn't turned red before while he was feeding, then they had now. He didn't take too well to people engaging in those... activities. Apparently, this agent was one of the people hired to guard the Winter Soldier when he wasn't 'working'.

Harry glanced at the man, who was still looking at him but with glazed eyes.

“Hmm, what shall I do with you?” Harry enquired, question purely rhetorical. “I could make sure you report to me and HYDRA. Give me all of HYDRA's secrets.”

“That sounds good,” Harry muttered then stared straight into the man's eyes.

“ _You will be my agent in HYDRA. Report to me when you have new intel. Keep an eye on the Winter Soldier. You will forget about me when you have nothing to report. But don't let them know about my existence_ _when you're reporting_ _. Or I will hunt you down.”_

Harry could smell some deep fear coming from the man but it was only light fear.

“I think that's all of the bases,” Harry mused, scratching his chin in thought. He idly cast a monitoring charm and a tracking charm on the man. “ _Here.”_

Harry handed the guy a disposable cell phone with his phone number already entered in it. “ _Use that to contact me.”_

“ _Go on, get out of here. Go drink or eat something to refill your blood sugar levels. I won't have my new agent die on me. And thanks for the quick meal.”_

Harry watched the guy fled, releasing his hold on... Donovan.He glanced down at his phone when it started to beep then turned around to hop back into his van and took off down the street.

 


	2. Chapter 2

As he reached Maria's coordinates, he could hear the four of them at the back of an apartment building. He left the car running in the alleyway between buildings and strode over to see what the situation was.

“Agent Hill, I'm here,” Harry remarked as he glanced at Steve, Natasha and Wilson.

Natasha turned around from where she was leaning against the building and he could see her sigh in relief. Harry could see Maria relax too, seeing him.

“Good,” Maria said. “Let's get going then.”

Harry studied the four of them for a minute. Steve looked like he had just seen a ghost... or been shot in the stomach. Whatever had happened must have had a big impact on him. And Harry didn't smell any blood on him so it was probably the former.

“Come on. Car's this way,” Harry offered, gesturing back the way he had came.

“You didn't park it in the street, did you?” Maria asked, glancing at him.

“No, of course not. If it's to be deep-shadow cover for a while then I know what that means,” Harry remarked as he led them toward the car. “Even though I'm not a SHIELD agent, I like to keep tabs on my friends.”

“Of course you do,” Natasha remarked, with a hint of a smile. Though when Harry took a closer look at her, he winced, smelling blood.

“You got injured again?” Harry asked as they stopped at the car. He went around to the back to open it up, helping Natasha up and into the vehicle.

“Yes, I did,” Natasha said then peered back at him as she sat down on one of the seats. “Don't you dare radio Clint and tell him. He's enough of a mother hen as it is.”

“What? And I'm not a mother hen?” Harry exclaimed, a little offended. “You don't think I can mother hen like the best of them?”

Natasha stared at him then laughed a little breathily.

Harry winced then gestured to the compartment to her left. “There's a pain easing potion in there for you, if you want it.”

“What...” Sam trailed off, looking at the car in bewilderment. “It looked like...”

“Sam, meet Harry Potter,” Steve remarked with a bemused smile. Though it didn't reach his eyes, like it usually did. “It's good to see you again.”

Harry held out his hand toward Sam. “I've heard good things about you, Wilson.”

Sam blinked. “And you would know about me, how?”

“I've sources,” Harry commented as Maria jumped up into the van. Harry closed the doors after them then ran around to the driver's seat, closing the door after him. “I was serious about that pain potion, Natasha.”

Harry turned to peer back at the group then sighed, touched his hand to the steering wheel, pushing magic into the car and engine before heading to the back.

Sam stared at him then back at the driver's seat. “Uh, aren't you going to drive the car?”

Harry shook his head. “No.”

Sam stared at him with a bewildered frown and that was when the van's engine turned on.

“What the hell?!”

Steve smiled wearily at Sam then glanced at Harry as he sat down across from them.

“So, what happened?” Harry asked, glancing at the four them. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Natasha pull out a numbing potion from the potion compartment and down it, visibly relaxing the minute after she drank it down. She still held a hand to her shoulder wound but she was overall relaxed enough. “I saw the destruction.”

Steve glanced at him then out through the van's front window. The van had pulled out into traffic and was navigating the Washington D.C. traffic, all without a driver. Natasha and Steve were well used to Harry by now but Maria and Sam were staring between him and the steering wheel with confused frowns on their faces.

“Steve?” Harry questioned softly as he turned to look at the super-soldier.

 

 "How is the car driving itself?” Sam asked.

“Ah... that would be because I'm a wizard,” Harry said nonchalantly.

Sam continued to stare, possibly even more confused now. “A wizard.”

“Yep, think... Merlin or Lord of the Rings,” Harry offered. “I'm a wizard.”

“Okay, that makes sense, I suppose,” Sam replied. “Though I only saw the movie version of Lord of the Rings.”

Harry nodded. “Think Gandalf but I'm probably a lot less cryptic and I'm not as old.”

“Obviously,” Sam remarked. “Won't people be weirded out when they see a car that has no driver though?”

“No, as I'm keeping an illusion up. It'll make it so that there's someone at the wheel,” Harry replied steadily.

“So,” Harry started, glancing at the others. “Winter Soldier? Oh, I forgot.”

Harry shuffled over to the passenger seat to grab the big bag and brought it back to sit in the middle. He removed the heating spell that he had put on the food then glanced at each person in turn.

“I brought food,” Harry said. “I assumed you guys would be hungry?”

Sam grinned. “Yep. At least, I am. I don't know about you guys.”

Harry went to sit by Natasha and Steve immediately made room for him. Harry examined her wound then glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Go ahead,” Natasha urged. “I'll hold still.”

Harry nodded and pressed his gloved hand over her wound, drawing on his magic. Natasha removed her own hand. Before he started, he elbowed Steve, who jumped a little.

Steve glared at him.

“You need to eat something,” Harry remarked quietly. “We still have another hour or so to go to our destination.”

Steve stared then shook his head. “You sound like...”

Harry winced as Steve paled.

“What is it?” Harry asked, simultaneously pulling some magic to start to heal Natasha's wound. The bullet had gone clean through so he just needed to mend the flesh and skin. He kept one eye on her and one eye on Steve as he worked.

“He thinks the Winter Soldier is Bucky Barnes,” Natasha remarked, flinching minutely.

“Sorry,” Harry muttered. “This is going to hurt a little.”

“It's not a problem,” Natasha whispered then glanced at Steve. Maria and Sam were staring at Steve too, all with frowns on their faces.

“Bucky Barnes...” Harry trailed off, attention fully on Natasha's shoulder for the moment. He directed his magic to knit the blood vessels together. It took another fifteen minutes to finish up though it would have taken less had his magic just been directed here. Harry withdrew his hand and cast a cleaning charm on both his hand and Natasha's shoulder. “Ah, there we go. All done.”

Natasha sighed in relief then glanced down at her shoulder and nodded, clearly satisfied.

“I don't know this Bucky Barnes,” Harry said. “Am I suppose to?”

“He was my friend before I became this,” Steve gestured to his body, taking out a sandwich from the bag. “And continued to be until he fell.”

“Oh, you told me a little about your past,” Harry remarked. “He was a good friend?”

“Yes,” Steve said, turning to look out the window again then taking a bite of the sandwich. “And now he's... an assassin who doesn't remember me.”

Harry paled, stomach threatening to rebel again when the memories returned. “Steve, if you're sure that this assassin is your friend...”

“I'm sure. His eyes,” Steve murmured. “I would never forget him.”

Harry sighed and glanced at Maria. “SHIELD know anything about this?”

Maria shook her head. “I didn't know. I'm not as sure if Fury knew about this.”

Harry stared at her, raising an eyebrow again. She shook her head then turned to look at Steve.

“SHIELD didn't know about your friend,” Maria commented. “Though I wish we did. We may have been able to stop him sooner.”

“We're...” Steve stopped and shook his head then glanced at Maria and Harry. “Where are we going exactly?”

“Deep cover location,” Maria said. “HYDRA hopefully doesn't know about it.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow. “Hopefully?”

“There's important info at the location,” Maria remarked.

Harry snorted then glanced up innocently when Maria glared at him.

“Aren't you hungry?” Steve cut in, glancing at Harry pointedly.

“I had breakfast this morning,” Harry answered.

“I meant...” Steve trailed off, sighing.

“Oh, you meant the other type of hungry. I had a snack earlier,” Harry said then winced. “But I kinda lost it.”

“What do you mean by 'other type of hungry'?” Sam enquired. “Did I miss a memo or something?”

“Lost it? Are you sick?” Steve asked, eyes looking Harry over.

Natasha turned to stare at Harry, narrowing her eyes.

“No, my 'nature' makes it so I don't get sick,” Harry remarked.

“Nature? Alright, this is getting creepy,” Sam commented.

Harry turned to stare at Sam, studying for a minute then nodded. “If we're going to be fighting together in the future, you should know.”

“Know what?” Sam asked, bewildered. “You're secretly a HYDRA agent?”

Harry chuckled, Natasha snorted and Steve grinned.

“No, he is definitely not a HYDRA agent,” Maria replied. “He's a neutral third party that apparently Fury trusted.”

“Sam, I'm a hybrid,” Harry said.

Sam rolled his eyes. “That wasn't cryptic at all. A hybrid what exactly?”

“Werewolf and vampire,” Harry responded nonchalantly.

Sam's eyes widened. “Uh, those creatures exist?”

“In this world? I don't know,” Harry answered. “But in others, yes.”

“In this world?” Steve asked, turning to stare at Harry.

“You want honesty right now?” Harry asked, staring at Steve.

Steve nodded.

“Well, since we have the time. And since I trust all of you,” Harry started. “I was born July 31 th , 1980...”

 

* * *

 

 

“So you were... bitten by a werewolf first then a vampire?” Natasha asked.

“Yes,” Harry replied warily. “Voldemort wanted to experiment and who better to do it on than his enemy?”

Steve was still staring at him with a half an intent gaze and half repulsion. Harry was pretty sure the repulsion was for Voldemort, not him. “Your enemy... did that to you?”

“Yeah, he didn't really take the Geneva Convention to heart,” Harry replied dryly then pondered that. “Though on second thought, I don't even think he knew what the Geneva Convention was.”

“Well,” Sam said. “Makes me glad you killed him.”

“Agreed,” Natasha remarked.

“You willingly stepped through a Veil of Death to get away from everything?” Steve questioned as the car took a left turn from the main road. They had passed the outskirts of Washington D.C about thirty minutes ago and now were almost to the dam that Fury had said he was at. The road they were on was surrounded by trees and gave them plenty of cover from helicopters or quinjets. It would be a beautiful spot to run in his wolf form, probably plenty of prey animals around here too.

“It was either that or living in a world that was trying to hunt me down,” Harry answered. “And since I didn't particularly want to do that... I landed here.”

There was silence for a few minutes as everyone took his story in. Then Sam frowned at him.

“Are you immortal then?” Sam asked. “If you're part vampire...”

Harry shook his head then rubbed his chin. “I don't think I am. I only age much slower. It's like Steve here.”

Steve glanced at him. “Yeah, he's right.”

Harry glanced out of the car, directing it to stop outside of the dam. “We're here.”

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

“About goddamn time you guys got here,” Fury remarked from a hospital bed.

Steve stared at Fury then glanced down at Harry, who sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I knew. Well, I only knew once Maria told me. I didn't even know that Fury had died in the first place. I was busy helping Sirius out with everything. I need to talk to you soon though.”

Steve nodded then turned back to look at Fury as he explained why he had faked his death.

 

* * *

 

 

“It all goes,” Steve remarked, crossing his arms and glaring at Fury. “SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.”

Fury stared back at him then glanced at Hill, who nodded. Fury looked at Natasha, who inclined her head then at Sam, who shrugged.

“Don't look at me. I do what he does, only slower,” Sam replied.

“Potter?” Fury questioned. “You have any feelings about this?”

Steve turned to Harry, who raised an eyebrow. “You really think I'm going to go against him?”

“Maybe?”

Harry jerked a thumb toward Steve. “Rethink your life choices then, Fury. I'm on his team, in more ways than one.”

Steve rolled his eyes as Natasha snorted. “You really didn't have to say that.”

“What?! You expected me not to say it? Natasha, you know me,” Harry complained, pouting a little.

“Well, it looks like you're giving the orders now, Cap,” Fury finally responded.

 

* * *

 

 

“What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Steve asked, guiding Harry over to a corner in the bunker. He watched as Harry glanced around the room, looking for something then sighed and pulled out his wand, pulled out a big piece of paper from his bag and muttered a few words. Steve watched as the paper turned into four rather comfortable looking chairs. Harry sat down in one and Steve sat down in the one across from him.

“You know that time a year ago that I appeared at your door in my wolf form?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, you were badly injured,” Steve replied, watching as Harry pulled out a thermos from his bag too. “And you said you had been ambushed? Though you never said that you had found out who it was.”

Harry stared at Steve then opened the bottle up and took a sip. “The guy that had come to kill me or at least that's what I think he was going to do... It was the Winter Soldier.”

Steve's eyes widened. “You mean... it was Bucky?”

“Yeah, I don't know why he came to kill me or whatever. I didn't know who sent him but now that I have... information,” Harry started. “I realize that it was your friend.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Information?”

“I went to go get some blood this morning before I picked you guys up,” Harry replied. “I ran into one of the Strike team members or one of the HYDRA agents more precisely.”

“You weren't hurt, were you?” Steve questioned, giving Harry an obvious once-over.

“No, nothing of that sort,” Harry answered, shaking his head. “Only took my fill then accidentally found some of his memories. That's why I lost the meal that I had just taken.”

“Tell me everything,” Steve ordered, bringing the chair closer to Harry's, entwining their hands from where Harry's were lightly shaking.

Harry snorted. “You know, I thought SHIELD had a lot of secrets. They're not exactly perfect but they're better than HYDRA.”

Steve gestured for him to continue.

“Steve, it's bad. Bucky... he... he didn't look good,” Harry commented, wincing. “And it brought back my memories of being forced to become what I am.”

“I can handle it,” Steve said.

“You sure? I think it's pretty bad and I've been through a lot,” Harry remarked, running a hand through his hair. “And it's your friend.”

“Best friend,” Steve corrected, sighing. “He was my best friend before the war and continued to be. I... missed him so much when he went off to fight. And now, he doesn't remember me.”

“He'll probably be there.”

“Sam's right,” Harry said, as the other man came over to sit in one of the other chairs. “Tomorrow when we go prevent HYDRA from achieving world domination, Bucky will be there.”

“Harry, I still want to know what the memories you saw were,” Steve stated.

Harry groaned. “Fine. Do you want to see them like the Vulcans in Star Trek or do you want me to just recite what I saw?”

“Vulcans?” Steve asked, glancing from where Sam was grinning to where Harry was gaping at him. “Star Trek?”

“Steve! I... Don't say that in front of Tony,” Harry remarked, rolling his eyes. “Here. I don't have a pensieve but I think I can do this. Shouldn't be too hard.”

“Man, you haven't seen Star Trek yet?” Sam asked, looking between Harry and Steve. “That should have been like the first movies you saw. Or, watch the tv series first. They're better.”

Harry chuckled and conjured a small vial and let drop one tear into it. “I'll try to keep it orderly.”

“Orderly?”

“No other memories or thoughts from me,” Harry explained then glanced around them. He focused on the wall of the bunker then conjured a projector. It appeared in front of him, supported by a table and then Harry tapped his wand on it, watching it add a funnel of sorts. He let the memory drip into it then turned the projector on. “That wouldn't exactly be pleasant.”

Steve gasped as a hazy bank vault appeared in front of them. Then whoever's memory this was moved, walking through a few doors and stopping a few feet from a chair. The memory person turned to look down at the chair and Steve recoiled. Bucky was lying on the chair, strapped down, shirtless, vulnerable. He had a blank look on his face, almost childlike. The memory turned to look around the bank vault and Steve saw five or six other 'SWAT' officers spread around the chair. Then Alexander Pierce walked in and sat in front of Bucky. Steve could dimly feel Harry squeezing his hand in comfort but he didn't turn to look at him.

“I need you to kill Nick Fury,” Pierce was saying. “You've shaped the century. I need you to do it one last time.”

Steve glared at the back of Pierce's head. “I knew there was another reason not to trust this guy.”

Harry snorted.

The memory blacked out for a while. Steve looked at Harry.

“The other stuff's not interesting. But,” Harry stopped and sighed. “There's another memory of the after mission. After the Winter Soldier took out Fury or thought he did. It's even more not pleasant.”

“Show me.”

Harry raised an eyebrow but inclined his head. He tapped the projector with his wand again then the memory started up again.

Bucky was back in the chair, strapped down.

“Mission report.”

“Killed the target,” the Winter Soldier said obediently. Bucky's voice was hoarse, like he didn't talk a lot. Or wasn't allowed to.

Pierce nodded his head then stood up and turned so that they could see his face. He looked pleased with himself and a little smug. They watched as he turned to one of the other guys in a scientist's white clothing.

“Wipe him.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Steve was halfway to the door before Harry could catch up to him, wrapping his arms around him. “Steve, we'll get him. Pierce will either die or go to prison for a long, long time. We'll get Bucky out. I promise. He's not going to stay an... asset of HYDRA.”

Steve could swear he heard a growl coming from Harry's throat but closed his eyes and rested his head on Harry's shoulder.

“Though, if you want my opinion, the guy should die,” Harry muttered darkly. “They're treating him like he's a--”

“Like a machine,” Steve murmured, a little brokenly. “They're...”

“Hey, he's going to be okay,” Harry said. “We'll get him out. And didn't you say he looked like he was about to remember you? Back on the bridge?”

“Yeah, he kind of did. Right before Sam hit him,” Steve replied.

Harry grinned. “He remembers you. If he felt just a fraction of what you're feeling before the war about you, he remembers you. I don't have much experience with amnesia or you know... brainwashing, but likely you're ingrained in him. If all it took was for you to call him by his name, HDYRA didn't take over all of him.”

“Okay,” Steve said. “I hope you're right.”

“And we'll get to kick HYDRA's ass tomorrow too!” Harry exclaimed, smiling. “Release some of this pent up energy.”

Steve chuckled and leaned into the kiss that Harry started, sighing in relief. “Let's get some sleep, yeah?”

“There are better ways to spend our time,” Steve commented as they both pulled back.

Harry snorted. “Sleep or sex??? Hmmm... get some actual rest before the big fight or work off some energy. This is a difficult decision you've saddled me with.”

Steve smiled then frowned. “Harry, I would like to ask you something.”

Harry looked at him, raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“If something happens to me--”

“Whoa! Let's not talk like that,” Harry exclaimed, waving his arms. “No. Just no. No one is dying tomorrow unless it's the bad guys.”

“If something happens to me,” Steve started, placed a finger over Harry's mouth as he attempted to talk. “Take care of Bucky.”

“Fine. But nothing's happening to you,” Harry ordered as soon as Steve removed his finger. “Nothing, okay? You have me and Sam and hopefully the non-HDYRA SHIELD agents by your side. Hell, if everything goes to hell tomorrow, I'm apparating us, plus Bucky and Sam and Natasha the fuck out of there.”


	4. Chapter 4

“How were your flights?” Alexander Pierce asked, as he led them through the Triskelion. Harry walked alongside one of the other World Security Council members, seamlessly blending in. He had cast a thorough glamour on himself this morning before they had all split up and watched Natasha use a sophisticated piece of tech that allowed her to look like one of the other members. Harry was currently attempting to keep from glaring a hole through Pierce's head and was mostly succeeding. No one had commented on his expression so he figured he was fine.

“My flight was fine,” Natasha replied steadily. “There were a lot of long lines though.”

Pierce sighed. “Even SHIELD can't do anything about that, regrettably. And yours?”

“Fine. The pilot had a good sense of humor,” Harry answered, shrugging a little.

“Ah, good. That always makes the flight a little more enjoyable,” Pierce replied, as they walked over to the flights of elevators. Pierce turned around to look at them and then gestured to one of his security officers, who brought out a briefcase. The agent opened the case and Pierce pointed to the electronic devices. “These will get you through any door here. They're keyed to you and only you.”

Harry picked out his, or rather the one that was keyed to the World Security Council member that he was impersonating and pinned it on. He absently scanned it with his magic and started a little when it picked up something that wasn't suppose to be there. The Strike team members that were guarding them seemed a little more ominous. Well, when Harry first saw them, he could see from the start that they were members of HYDRA.

“Everything alright?” Pierce asked, turning to look at him.

“Yes. I'm just looking forward to this,” Harry replied, inwardly wincing.

 _Natasha, the devices are small explosives_.

Natasha didn't even react to the warning but came over by his side. Harry figured that was as much of an acknowledgement that he would get.

 

* * *

 

 

Hill and Natasha had walked him through the layout of the building earlier this morning so he knew it pretty well. Most of the walls were windows which let him see out into the weather of Washington D.C in the summer. Pierce walked over to the table that was in the middle of the room and opened a bottle of champagne.

“Well, gentlemen, lady, let's toast to the interesting start of Project Insight,” Pierce remarked, handing out glasses as he filled them. Harry took one and was inwardly counting down in his head. 5................4.......................3..................2......................1.

“This is Captain Rogers. Shield's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce's their leader. Those carriers, they're triggered to take out a million people around the world. The price of freedom is a high price, and it's a price I'm willing to pay! Don't let control take the place of freedom!”

Harry would have smiled, knowing that Steve, Maria, and Sam were on the top communications ready room before the docks, but he wasn't ready to let these HYDRA agents know that he wasn't with them. He was following Natasha's lead in this unless Maria signaled that Steve and Sam needed help, he was going to stay here and help Natasha.

One of the other World Security Council members stiffened and stepped away from Pierce. The others did as well, with Harry and Natasha stepping away too.

“HYDRA?”

Pierce sighed. “If your daughter was kidnapped and taken to a stadium to get shot, those helicarriers would have the capability to rescue her.”

“Arrest him,” one of the members said, gesturing to the Strike team members. The agent stepped up, pulled his gun and pointed it at the WSC member, thumbing off the safety.

“Looks like I have the upper hand,” Pierce remarked, bringing out his phone and tapping out a few words.

Harry exchanged glances with Natasha and she inclined her head. He nodded and watched as she took out the HYDRA agents, swiftly and with a little prejudice.

“I'm sorry. Did I step on your moment?” Natasha asked, peeling off her mask and pointing one of the stolen guns right at Pierce. Harry stopped his glamour too and stepped up to stand alongside Natasha, pointing his wand at the downed HYDRA agents and stunning them. He could vaguely hear lots of commotion coming from the command floor. The Strike team that had often accompanied Steve on his missions were there and ordering the communications officers to launch the helicarriers.

Pierce stared at the both of them, gaze switching between Natasha and Harry. “I sent our asset after you. How did you escape?”

Harry stilled and turned back to glare at Pierce. He heard the carriers launching as they were quite loud. “Your 'asset'? You mean the human being that you turned into a weapon against his will? The asset that was once Steve Rogers' best friend? That asset?”

Pierce sighed. “It was hardly torture.”

“Yeah well, brainwashing, being treated as a machine... I saw what happened to him,” Harry growled out. “Everything you've done to him counts as torture in my book. In fact, it goes beyond torture. He thinks he's a machine, worthless, he doesn't know anything else; I saw it in his eyes. I would totally kill you right now if you weren't needed.”

Pierce raised an eyebrow. “How could you have seen that?”

“That's not the point here,” Harry replied then glanced at Natasha. “You have everything here?”

“Yes, go help the others,” Natasha replied as she walked to stand by the computer. The other World Security Council members were holding guns to Pierce and occasionally glancing at Harry. He watched as the three helicarriers rose out of the Potomac River, having been hidden underneath in an enormous hangar bay.

“You know, I had the asset hurt more when he came back empty handed that day,” Pierce called as Harry left the room. Harry turned back to glare at Pierce, consciously letting his eyes glow red. The world security council members shuddered when they glanced at him, apparently unaware of what he was or what he could do. “I had him wiped last night too. You have no chance of getting him to remember.”

“Natasha, do we really need him alive?” Harry asked idly. “He is pissing me off right now and that's really dangerous territory.”

Natasha glanced at him and went back to typing away at the computer. “Yes. However, I do give you permission to do little things.”

Harry snorted, cast a silent ugly hex toward Pierce and left the room, sprinting toward the nearest exit. He also cast a silent and colorless charm to deactivate the explosive device on Natasha's shirt.

The last thing he heard from the room was Pierce asking if Natasha was ready for her past to come out. And Natasha replying with, “Are you?”

It had been the plan to release all of SHIELD and HYDRA's information to the public today. Natasha hadn't batted an eyelash when they had agreed on it.

 

* * *

 

 

Harry flung open the door, bringing his wings out in the process. The few SHIELD and or HYDRA agents that saw him all backed away and turned in another direction than him. He chuckled then contacted Maria, thumbing on his comm and using his magic to blast away the small device that Pierce had given him.

“Maria, where are Sam and Steve?”

“Potter, Steve is heading toward one of the helicarriers. Sam is going toward another. Natasha's in control of Pierce in the conference room?”

“Yes. I couldn't stay that close to Pierce anymore; the man is well, what he said had brought back memories. What can I do to help?”

“Harry?”

“Steve...” Harry closed his eyes briefly in relief. Pierce's mannerisms had brought too much to the surface and hearing Steve's voice damped it down somewhat. Harry idly appreciated what he had learned from Charles Xavier; the telepath had taught him some tips on how to keep his mind from panicking too much.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Harry replied, shuddering for a minute then steadying himself. “Where do you need me?”

“I haven't spotted Bucky yet. Could you do aerial recon?” Steve asked, breathing hard. Harry could hear shouting through the comms and around him.

“Sure. I'm not going to engage him though. That would confuse the hell out of him, having two targets before him. But I can see if he's around, yeah. Maybe help the SHIELD agents around. What's your progress with the computer chips?”

“I'm almost to the first carrier. I think Sam's already gotten his in.”

“Yeah, there he goes,” Harry replied, seeing Sam fly down from the second helicarrier. Harry started to run, beating his wings a little then alighted into the air. He took off, heading toward the helicarriers. Their guns were still trying to take out Sam so Harry flew his way, dodging one or two quinjets that were targeting Sam.

“Three minutes, guys,” Maria reported from her spot in the Triskelion.

“Noted,” Harry said. “We're working on it.”

“Those are a nice set of wings you got there,” Harry called out into the comm, casting a blasting charm toward one jet that came a little too close to him. He watched the engine explode and the jet spiral down to the ground.

“Thank you. You have a good pair yourself,” Sam replied as he flew onto one of the carriers and pulled out guns. “What kind of suit is that?”

Harry grinned, speeding toward the third carrier. “It's not a suit.”

He could hear Sam spluttering and Steve calling him for a ride. “You mean those are real?”

“Yeah. Ah, Steve, I see him,” Harry muttered, flying over the third helicarrier and making sure to stay well out of the Winter Soldier's range.

“How... how does he look?” Steve managed to say before he got picked up by Sam.

Harry hovered in the air, hoping that Bucky wouldn't look up. His eyes were red and his wings were out which would make him look rather scary. And he didn't want to scare Steve's best friend. “He looks... let me take a closer look.”

He flew down a few inches then sped toward the quinjet that the Winter Soldier had just thrown a grenade into. Harry could smell that there was a pilot in there so he flew around, being careful to not go into the soldier's sight range, apparated into the pilot's seat, grabbed the guy and apparated back out. He landed back on the solid ground, where there were a lot of SHIELD agents running about.

Harry lowered the pilot to the ground and looked him over, hearing Sam drop Steve onto the helicarrier where Bucky was.

“You okay?”

The pilot looked up at him, eyes wide and shakily nodded his head. “I'm okay.”

“Good. Uh, Maria, is there a safe rendezvous point for actual SHIELD agents or something?” Harry asked, stepping away and getting ready to take flight again.

“Yeah, tell him to go to the safe house in New York,” Maria replied.

Harry nodded and relayed the information then took off.

“Buck, don't make me do this,” Steve was saying.

“Steve, do you need help?” Harry tentatively asked. “I heard Sam's grounded?”

“Yeah, I'm grounded. Going to go head off Rumlow,” Sam replied.

“Rumlow?” Harry asked as they had yet to hear something from Steve. Harry wasn't worried. Yet.

“He's heading for the council,” Sam said.

“Ah, I'll check on Steve and Bucky,” Harry responded, flying up to the third helicarrier. “Maria, has he synched up the targeting computer yet?”

“No, he hasn't,” Maria answered.

“I'm on the way then.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Harry landed on the helicarrier and shifted into his wolf form, deciding to change to minimize any confusion on Bucky's part. He knew that Steve had chosen to put on the uniform that he had worn during World War 2 so that should in theory help Bucky to remember, hopefully. If Pierce had actually had Bucky wiped again... then... Harry sighed and trotted through the helicarrier, heading toward the targeting computers.

Harry heard the moment that all three helicarriers were synched. The guns moved and they started to fire. He sped up as the carrier rocked, bombarded by various missiles and bolts of fire. He huffed out a wolfy snort at the imagined looks of the staff onboard the helicarriers that were HYDRA agents. Their expressions must have been hilarious, to go from targeting thousands of civilians and possibly the other Avengers to targeting the other helicarriers.

Ladders and other structural tools that held up the helicarrier came down around him. He could feel the descent in altitude as the engines were hit and exploded.

Harry whined a little and arrived, coming to a stop before the computers. Steve was sitting on the platform, looking down at something. Harry growled a little and went to nose around Steve, just to make sure he was still alive.

“Harry?”

Harry sighed then stilled at the smell of blood. He nosed around then followed Steve's gaze downward. Bucky was trapped underneath a pillar and Harry could hear him, moaning a little and whimpering.

“I need to go help him,” Steve croaked out, very slowly sitting up and swinging his legs over the platform. Harry looked at him then nodded, nudging him with his nose. Blood was slowly oozing out of Steve's right shoulder and quickly running from his chest.

Harry glared at him, gave a small woof then watched as Steve slid down, helping him down by casting a spell to catch his fall. After he was sure his boyfriend was down, he jumped down himself and went over to help Steve walk toward the pillar, sticking to his side. As they approached Bucky, Harry watched as the guy's eyes widened and the blood left his face. Bucky was pale, breathing heavily and looked like he thought that the two of them were coming to finish him off.

Harry glanced up at Steve then detached himself from his side and cautiously crawled the rest of the way toward Bucky. He whined quietly, dropping his back, wagged his tail a little and bent to help Steve lift the pillar. They waited until Bucky crawled out then they let the pillar go a few feet away.

 

* * *

 

 

“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes,” Steve called out over the burning parts of the carriers. “Your my friend.”

Harry whined, watching Bucky pin Steve down. He didn't want to get in between the two of them but... Steve was already hurt and he was worried about that. He also didn't want to confuse Bucky even more by shifting back though then again... If Pierce had Bucky wiped between missions... maybe he could shift back. But then... that might distract him.

“Noooo,” the Winter Soldier yelled back, hitting Steve with his metal arm. Harry could tell and smell that Bucky was also in pain, as he wasn't using his right arm at all. It was possibly broken, maybe strained. “You're my mission!”

Harry whined even louder, hesitantly padding over and sticking his nose up against Bucky's back lightly. He turned to look at Steve and took a few steps back, blown away by the broken expression on Steve's face. If Harry wasn't mistaken, there was love in that gaze too. And not just a platonic love.

“Then finish it.... because I'm with you until the end of the line,” Steve gasped out, breathing heavily and pale from blood loss. He also had multiple bruises on his face from Bucky hitting him.

The expression on Bucky's face would stay with Harry for a long time. It was a mixture of fear, denial, grief and surprise, of memories coming back. The next thing Harry knew he was falling, along with Steve. A few giant pieces of carrier had fallen around them, breaking through the floor and sending them downward into the river.

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bucky goes off on his own, only to have a follower.

Harry hit the water hard, having realized he had been shot in all the chaos and having the pain acting up now. Theadrenaline that had kept him from feeling any pain was leaving his system and he slowly realized that he had been injured in two places, not just one. He didn't have any time to cast a spell to arrest both his and Steve's falls into the river, as he was too busy glaring at his injuries like they had personally offended him. As soon as he hit the water and hit the water hard, he held his breath and swam upward, seeing blood flow from his hind left leg. He yelped in pain and searched around for where Steve had fallen.

His boyfriend had yet to surface and really, Harry should have known better. Steve had gotten shot in the gut and stabbed in his shoulder and shot once more somewhere else. And he probably had a few more injuries as well. Harry hadn't been able to see Bucky and Steve fighting but it had seemed like Bucky was strong, possibly as strong as Steve.

He paddled around the area, dodging the many debris that were dropping down from the three helicarriers. A big piece of ship sent him dodging underwater, the river getting more and more choppier as each giant piece hit the water. And right as he was about to swim up to the surface one more time, he saw a glint of metal that didn't look like a piece of ship. Harry glanced up, the surface was a few feet away and swam upward, doggy paddling up as fast as he could.

He cast a bubble head charm around himself when he reached the surface then dove back down. Harry could just see Bucky's head and swam to the side of the soldier as he pulled Steve back up. Harry gave a yip of excitement and encouragement when they finally surfaced, watching as Bucky pulled Steve along with his metal arm.

Harry went to swim down and came up right under Steve, pushing him up. He could feel Bucky's eyes on him but didn't stop what he was doing. Hopefully, in the condition Bucky was in, at least, he would see that Harry was helping Steve and not think he was attempting to attack either of them.

Harry could smell the distress, fear, pain, anger and horror coming from Bucky and it was a little overwhelming. Horror from realizing, maybe remembering that Steve had been someone important to him in the past. In the last few seconds on the helicarrier, Bucky had definitely looked like some of Steve's words had gotten past his programming.

As soon as Harry could feel land underneath his paws, he inched out from under Steve and walked alongside him. Bucky stopped dragging Steve as soon as he was out of the water, out of the Potomac River and stopped to stare down at the super soldier. Harry glanced at Bucky then back across the river where the headquarters of SHIELD was burning up. Smoke was coming from every available area around the building and the hangar bays where the helicarriers had been parked.

Harry turned back to Steve when he heard him take a breath and he sighed in relief. Only to glance up in alarm when Bucky turned and started to walk away. He yipped, head turning to Steve then back at Bucky. Steve was greatly injured and Bucky was going off alone... Which one to stay with?

 _If something happens to me, take care of Bucky_.

Harry snorted out a breath, glanced down at Steve, pushed some healing magic out and into his body, hopefully giving his body some help, licked his face a little then took off after Bucky. He could totally be passed off as a german shepherd if they ventured into busy areas. As he trotted off, giving Steve one last look and whining a little, he was relieved to see the helicopter carrying Natasha, Fury and Sam coming his way.

He slowed when he was only a little ways behind the former Winter Soldier and started to limp a little clumsily. He sat down on his haunches and looked at the two bullet holes in his body; they were slowly starting to close, at least a little. But he really didn't want to be loosing blood right now so he closed his eyes and focused his magic into closing up the wounds. It took a few minutes before both wounds closed enough for him to be satisfied then he opened his eyes only for Bucky to have vanished. Regardless, he would need to find some source of blood within the next few hours.

Harry stood up, stretched and put his nose to the ground and took off, having memorized Bucky's scent even before the battle on the helicarriers. He trotted for a few minutes before catching up with him and kept a few inches back, giving the soldier room. He had walked away from the beach that he had left and gone onto the road that was near it. People were standing around and staring at the destruction across the river, not noticing the strange man with a metal arm and the strange looking dog following him.

After a few minutes of Harry following Bucky, the man stopped and turned to look at him. Harry peered up at Bucky, who was staring at him with a blank expression. However, Harry could see apprehension and a little fear in Bucky's eyes and he could still smell the same emotions coming off of him too. Harry gave a quiet bark of encouragement and cautiously inched toward Bucky, who took a step back.

Harry wagged his tail, knowing he looked a little scary to people who didn't know who he was, and made sure his ears and body were relaxed. Bucky was still, almost like a statue, flesh hand tentatively reaching out before Bucky cringed and drew it back in. His eyes were wide, maybe from fear. His metal arm was hovering over the hilt of a knife. Harry gave another soft, encouraging yip of a sound then started to inch forward more. Bucky took another step back but this time it was short, like he was ambivalent.

People who were walking along the sidewalk of the river park had started to stare at them. And it was clearly making Bucky uncomfortable, if his body language was any indication. His metal hand had closed around the knife hilt, flexing a little.

Harry turned to stare at the people who had stopped and were 'ooohing' at the cute dog. He gave a rough bark at them then peered up at Bucky and closed the distance in one slow step. Bucky started, almost falling before catching his balance. But he did hesitantly reach out with his metal arm. Harry gently pushed into it, keeping his body relaxed and nonthreatening.

“...SHIELD knows now. We have to go to our fall back location in Europe.”

“I know. Keep quiet. There could be SHIELD agents or... even Captain America somewhere around here. We're not out of the jungle yet.”

Both Harry and Bucky stiffened. Bucky drew his metal arm away from where he had been slowly entwining it with his fur.

Harry turned in the direction of the voices and skimmed their surface thoughts, ears unconsciously pinned back. HYDRA agents.

 

* * *

 

 

 

The soldier stiffened when he heard the voices, dimly realizing that the dog in front of him had stiffened too. He turned to go, only for the dog, who he kind of thought looked like a wolf, to nudge him in the opposite direction. The soldier was unsure whether the dog meant no harm to him but he remembered that... The dog's body language had been calm and nearly gentle with him. The dog had helped him from the moment he had seen the creature, had helped him get his...

The soldier didn't know what to call the man who had recognized him on the bridge. But he knew... The soldier felt like the man would never hurt him.

He stared down at the dog and could see that the dog was staring at him patiently, like he was waiting for the soldier to pick their destination. The only problem was that the soldier... didn't know their destination.

“You think we should wait for the asset and catch him before we leave?”

“No. You know what Pierce said. This was the asset's last mission. If we do catch him, we're to put him down.”

The soldier stilled even more and pulled his knife out of its holster when the dog suddenly put its front paws on his legs and pushed him into the bushes next to the sidewalk. The soldier was caught unawares and fell onto the ground, onto his back. His eyes widened when the dog started to crawl and lay down half on top of him and half not.

The soldier coughed a little and tried to push the dog off only for the dog to stubbornly remain on his stomach. The soldier looked the wolf-dog in the eyes and the creature returned the look.

“...What?” The soldier croaked out, coughing a little.

The dog whined only to immediately quiet when the soldier heard the voices coming closer. The soldier looked into the dog's green eyes and started a little when he could see a faint glow in them. He heard two people... two men walking closer and was about to pull out the only gun that had survived the fall into the river when the dog shook his head. He stilled and waited.

The soldier's former affiliates came around the corner and stopped right where the soldier was, if the wolf-dog hadn't pushed him off the sidewalk. The soldier stared at the dog, ready to switch his gun for his knife when the two agents found him.

“I saw him come this way. Where the hell did he go?”

“Come on dude, it's the Winter Soldier. He was trained to be invisible. But if... we should go to the mission check in spot. He might have gone there.”

The soldier stiffened when one of the agents kicked the bush he and the dog were sitting under. The dog stared at him, turned to look at his flesh arm where the soldier was still cradling it and gave it a small and short lick. As if the dog wanted him to think that it would be... okay?

The soldier stared at his flesh hand then at the dog, who whined quietly. He heard the agents start to walk off then started to get up. The wolf-dog immediately stood up, letting the soldier up without any growling or biting.

The soldier glanced down at the dog once they were both on their feet then took in his surroundings. He wanted to... The man on the helicarrier, on the bridge, had said that he had known him. He had said that they used to be... friends? The soldier wanted to investigate. He started walking and after a few minutes, realized that the dog was again following him.

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

The soldier wandered along the streets of Washington, D.C., occasionally glancing around him to make sure no one was following him. No one was except for the wolf-dog. The creature was walking alongside him, keeping enough of a distance that the soldier could keep an eye on it but close enough for... something. The soldier didn't know what or why the wolf was following him.

The dog every once and a while barked at people who were getting too close which the soldier... It felt like the dog was aware of how the soldier was flinching when people walked too close and it was summer. The soldier was aware of the fact that schools were usually out now, with families taking their partners to visit the capital. So there were very many strangers walking around and near the soldier, who wanted to get out of here. Strangers who kept staring at him causing the soldier to want to disappear into one of the safe houses.

The dog yipped quietly, tail wagging slowly, and crept even closer to him, nudging the soldier with his wet nose. The soldier peered down at the wolf-dog, metal fist clenching then relaxing. The dog looked up at him then pointed with its right front leg toward the group of homes and apartment buildings.

The soldier stared without blinking at it and the dog yipped again, trotting a few feet before coming back.

“You want me to follow you?” The soldier spoke uncertainly.

The dog nodded, growling at someone who came too close to them. The woman yelped and jerkily walked off, muttering something about the soldier having more control over his shepherd.

“He's not my...” The soldier trailed off when the dog started to pant, almost smiling at him. “Okay, I'll follow you.”

The dog nodded and came up to nudge his metal hand again. The soldier could feel his lips twitch up into a small grin and his eyes widened. The wolf-dog yipped happily again and the soldier started to walk again, following the creature.

 

* * *

 

 

When the dog led him up to the door of an apartment, the soldier balked, more than a little weary. The dog whined, looked back up at him, then nudged the door with his nose. The soldier waited for a second before the door opened. He could feel a strange wave of something around him, something that felt warm and... safe. The soldier watched as the dog trotted inside and he hesitated briefly, wishing he had a good rifle before stepping inside himself and closing the door behind him.

The soldier looked inside, searching for the dog who turned out to be just sitting inside on the tiled floor.

“Why are we here?”

The dog sighed, seemed to study the soldier before... changing. The soldier's eyes widened, watching the dog transform into a human man. The man was as tall as him with medium long black hair that reached to his shoulder, dark green eyes and a strange scar on his forehead. He was wearing some strange armor that the soldier had never seen before but it looked really sturdy.

The stranger also seemed familiar in some way, like the soldier had come across him before. He curled his hands into fists and discreetly pulled his knife from its holster.

“Bucky?”

The soldier stopped, blinked once or twice. “You know who I'm supposed to be?”

The guy nodded, not moving from where he stood. “I'm... The guy that you fished out of the river. I'm his... friend.”

The soldier raised an eyebrow. The guy appeared to be telling the truth but to the soldier, there seemed to be something more. “You're... not with HYDRA?”

The guy vehemently shook his head. “No. Never. HYDRA sucks. I'm... Harry. Just Harry.”

The soldier nodded hesitantly. “Why did you lead me here?”

“I figured you wanted out of those clothes,” Harry answered quietly. “Then we could go get answers for you.”

“The guy on the helicarrier... Who was he?” The soldier asked, taking a step closer to Harry, who didn't even flinch at his approach.

“To you?” Harry said.

The soldier nodded, gripping his knife loosely.

“He was a friend,” Harry replied. “I can also be a friend, if you want.”

“Friend?”

Harry looked at him then closed his eyes briefly, seemingly ignoring that the soldier was closing the distance between them. “Friend. Yes, you haven't had any friends for a long time, have you?”

The soldier closed the distance and collided with Harry, pushing him against the wall of the entrance hall. Harry yelped as the soldier drew his knife and used an arm to keep the stranger against the wall.

“Who are you really?” The soldier asked, glaring at the other man.

Harry studied him, not even batting an eyelash at being held at knifepoint in his own home. “It looked like you were taking the shift extremely well. Bucky...”

“I am not Bucky!” The soldier yelled, feeling tears start to build in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly, not wanting to show any kind of weakness to this stranger.

“Okay, then. What shall I call you?” Harry asked gently, eyes a little sad. “I'm not an expert at coming up with random names for people.”

The soldier stared at him then leaned into the other guy, bringing his knife to bear even more. “I don't know. I DON'T KNOW.”

“Alright. You're okay,” Harry whispered, pulling an arm out from under the soldier's bulk and carefully, telegraphing his movement, reached up to touch the soldier's cheek. “I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe here. Shhh.”

Harry's hand was warm and the soldier caught himself leaning into it. The knife clattered to the floor with a light thunk.

“Why don't we get you out of those dirty, bloody clothes, hmm?”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is short. I just wanted to post something. The next ones will be longer.


	7. Chapter 7

The soldier followed Harry's guiding hands further into the apartment, up a set of stairs then into a bathroom.

“Stay here for a minute, okay? Let me go get some extra clothes for you,” Harry murmured, peering into the soldier's eyes briefly before glancing at his broken arm. “I'll bring my medical kit too.”

The soldier looked around the bathroom after he watched Harry leave, noting the shower, the sink and the toilet. There were two toothbrushes right next to the sink and a hairbrush, along with a washcloth and two plastic cups. It looked like Harry had someone that came to stay the night occasionally. The soldier filed that away in his mind, hearing the strange guy come walking back into the bathroom.

 

* * *

 

 

“Here,” Harry said quietly, dropping his medical kit on the bathroom counter and looking Bucky over. The other man had cuts and scratches all over the skin that Harry could see and they looked like they were well on their way to healing. Harry didn't know much about Bucky but apparently he wasn't entirely human... Or maybe... Steve had told him that Bucky had been captured and experimented on by HYDRA. Whatever serum they had used on Bucky had made him survive that fall and heal quickly.

“What are these for?” Bucky asked, voice dry, staring at the clothes then at Harry.

Harry raised an eyebrow and summoned a glass of water wordlessly. “That uniform looks like it's really tight on you, constricting almost. And there's blood on it. I think I know of a good place to start getting answers for you but well...”

“Let me take a look at your arm first though?”

Bucky studied him, flexed his metal fist and peered over Harry to the door. His eyes widened at a noise and Harry reached out his hand for the glass of water. It landed in his hand then he held it out to Bucky.

The man stared between him and the cup, mouth opening and closing slowly.

“It's just water,” Harry murmured. “It's not drugged or anything. It'll help your throat feel better.”

The man continued to stare at the cup then hesitantly reached out for it with his metal arm. Bucky took a few hesitant small sips and Harry saw his shoulders droop in startled contentment, as if it had been a while since something had felt that good. Then Bucky stilled and his body stiffened. Harry sighed, figuring that it would take a long while for Bucky to trust him then drew his wand out slowly. Bucky's eyes narrowed when he saw the stick and he stared at it, body stilling even more.

“I... What is that?”

“It allows me to focus my... energy, to heal you,” Harry replied, holding out a hand, palm up. “I know you probably don't trust me but I have absolutely no motivation to harm you at all. And I know you heal quickly. Steve's the same way.”

Bucky looked back up at him at hearing Steve's name. “Steve?”

“He's your friend,” Harry said tentatively. “Do you remember him from before?”

Bucky narrowed his eyes then he stilled, bringing the cup of water to his mouth and taking a little hesitant sip. Like he didn't trust Harry yet, which Harry figured was to be expected.

“I remember... cold and ice,” Bucky whispered, taking another sip, this time bigger. His eyes widened and he shivered unconsciously.

Harry winced, seeing Bucky's flesh hand curl into a fist even though his arm was broken. “May I see your arm?”

“I remember someone... someone smaller than I am,” Bucky muttered, holding out his flesh arm. Harry sighed and reached out to gently grasp Bucky's arm, remembering the memories that he had seen in the HYDRA agent's mind. How Bucky hadn't even tried to fight back against what was being done to him. Remembered Bucky lying back in the chair, letting everyone poke and prod at him and finally hook him up to the machine that stole his memories. Harry shuddered when the memories reminded him of how he himself became what he was today.

“I'm not going to hurt you.”

Bucky stared at him and nodded a little.

Harry muttered the gentlest healing charm he could think of and a quiet crack sounded. Bucky startled slightly, blue eyes going wide.

“It's...” Bucky trailed off, bringing his flesh arm back to his chest to examine it. “You healed it.”

“What else did you think I was going to do?” Harry blurted out then winced. “Don't answer that.”

Bucky stared at him, eyes narrowed. His gaze was turned inward almost, like he was frustrated. “I... Rogers... He called me James. Is that... my name?”

“Yes, I think so. At least, that's your first name,” Harry replied softly. “Is that what you want me to call you, at least for now?”

“I think?”

“Okay, I can definitely do that. James,” Harry murmured.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Harry glanced up at Bucky as they walked through the opening doors of the Smithsonian. Bucky was very still as he walked, trying not to bump into anyone else. Harry had found a nice, worn but comfortable sweatshirt for Bucky to wear and a comfortable pair of sweatpants for him. The fact that the sweatshirt had a lion on it on side and a snake on the other was just incidental. Harry had gotten it just because it reminded him of Hogwarts.

They had had lunch, two quickly made sandwiches back at his apartment, then had come over here. Bucky had been very anxious to find answers which Harry certainly didn't blame him for. If he had been brainwashed to forget everything, he would want answers. Bucky had also been hesitant about the food, as if he was waiting for it to get taken away from him at any moment.

“Come on,” Harry whispered, lightly steering Bucky to where the exhibit he wanted was. The part werewolf in him was by now utterly protective over the super soldier which was mostly unsurprising. The wolf had taken easily to Steve but now seeing how badly Bucky had been treated... One of the passing tourists started at hearing a growl come from him and Harry quickly moved away, taking a deep breath to push down the wolf and the vampire half of him.

“...A museum?” Bucky whispered tentatively, staring at him.

“...It was a date idea,” Harry replied quietly, smiling at the memory.

“Date?”

“Ah,” Harry said, inwardly wincing at Bucky's quiet, kind of hopeless tone, as they arrived at the exhibit that he wanted. “Here, take a look around. See if it jogs your memory.”

The soldier stared at Harry then looked around them, noting the various exits and windows. The exhibit around them was from World War 2, something about... The soldier's eyes widened and he felt his feet take him a few steps toward the big stage with the mannequins in all their armor.

Everyone and everything fell away from his vision as his gaze fell on the mannequin that was dressed in blue armor. Whoever it was supposed to be was right next to a mannequin that was not wearing anything. Like the armor it was suppose to be wearing had gotten stolen.

The soldier stiffened as he turned back to stare at the mannequin with the deep blue armor. Something about it seemed... familiar?

The soldier moved away from the mannequins, dimly hearing Harry follow him. There was a big sign next to the stage with the mannequins, one that was about someone called James Buchanan Barnes. Someone who was best friends with Steve Rogers.

_Bucky, on your left!_

_BUCKY!! NO!!!!!_

 

 

_Steve, don't you dare._

_Bucky, you know I gotta go fight. I want to enlist._

_Steve, pal, you can't! You know you're too..._

_Too what, Bucky?!_

 

_No one has ever lived through my experiments before._

 

The soldier stiffened as memories hit his mind, stumbling a little. A hand came to rest at the small of his back, almost hesitantly, holding him up.

_You will be the new hand of HYDRA._

_Wipe him._

“James, you okay?”

“James...”

The soldier heard a whimper and distantly realized that it was from him.

“Is he...”

“Hey, buddy, is your friend okay?”

People were beginning to notice them and he winced, began to back away.

“James, let's go. Easy,” Harry whispered, drawing out the stick again and murmuring something. The soldier stared at him, noticing that everything around them became blurred as a wall of light appeared around them. Spots of light raced over to the people that had noticed the two of them. The soldier watched as one of women that had noticed them, watched as her eyes became dazed then she turned away. “You're safe. I've got you.”

“HYDRA...” the soldier whispered. “I'm... Bucky.”

“Your memories?” Harry murmured.

_You and Cap have something going on?_

_Dugan, what the hell gave you that idea?_

_Bucky, you two are inseparable. You really think that he would have rescued us if you hadn't been there?_

_But..._

_We've all noticed it. I was just the spokesman._ _Doesn't mean we're going to say something. We're a team._

“HYDRA did this to me,” the soldier stated quietly, metal hand turning into a fist. He felt like he wanted to punch something now. His name was Bucky and Steve Rogers was his friend. HYDRA took that from him.

“Yes, they did.”

“I want answers.”

“Alright. You know where to start? Because I don't.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes, turned to look back at the mannequins. The Howling Commandos... His friends... Steve...

“Yes.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Steve slowly opened his eyes to see Sam and Natasha sitting on either side of his bed. He was in the hospital. He could tell that his body was close to healed, if the only slight tenderness in his chest was any indication. And he could feel the lingering warmth that told him that Harry had left a healing charm on him. He grinned a little, thinking of...

“You know, you were pretty lucky that we found you,” Natasha remarked, interrupting his quickly down-spiraling thoughts and wrinkling her nose. “Don't do that again, Rogers.”

Sam snorted.

“I...” He trailed off into a coughing fit.

“Here,” Sam said, bringing a cup of water over to Steve's head with a straw in it.

Steve gladly took a few sips, feeling a lot better as water flowed down his throat.

“Stark had been going on and on about not letting you become a Capsicle again,” Natasha added, frowning.

“I'm still trying to get over the fact that Tony Stark returned your shield,” Sam said, smiling at Steve.

“Did anyone see Bucky?” Steve asked, glancing between his two friends. “What about Harry?”

Natasha and Sam exchanged glances over Steve's hospital bed. “No one's seen anyone fitting Bucky's description. And we haven't heard from or seen Harry since the battle on the helicarriers.”

“That was two weeks ago,” Sam added, sounding apologetic. “You've been in the hospital for that long. It's a miracle that you're lucid and talking right now.”

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

“Why are we going to the National Museum again?” Sam asked a few days later. Steve glanced toward the other man and shrugged a little. They strode toward the front steps of the museums as the sun beat down on them. It was three in the afternoon and since it was summer time, it was humid and hot. Neither of them were wearing their uniforms, not wanting to attract attention.

“I have a feeling that Harry was there.”

Sam turned to him as they reached the door and raised an eyebrow. “You have a feeling?”

“I think… I remember Harry falling with us,” Steve said as they stepped into the museum. “And we did come here a month ago. Maybe Harry and Bucky came here again?”

“What makes you think that Harry didn't die then? He wasn't a super soldier like you and Bucky are,” Sam commented.

“He can take quite a beating,” Steve answered. “He is part werewolf and part vampire.”

“Man, I still have trouble believing that he's not human,” Sam remarked.

Steve snorted.

“What makes you think that they're together?”

Steve sighed and stopped when they reached the door to the security office. “I don't know. It's just a feeling.”

“Some of that magic wearing off on you?” Sam offered, going to knock on the door. “Does that even happen?”

Steve looked toward him. “Your guess is as good as mine. I know what Harry's magic feels like though.”

A woman with a security badge for the museum opened the door and looked at them confusedly. “How can I help you two?”

“Could we look at the security footage for the past two weeks?” Steve asked, smiling politely. He remembered seeing Bucky's eyes right before he had fallen into the Potomac. His friend had looked devastated, like he had remembered something. Something that had caused him to stop fighting. Something that had broken through HYDRA's brainwashing. Steve closed his eyes briefly when he remembered the memory that Harry had shown them before the big battle against HYDRA.

He remembered Harry telling him about the wizard's own history, about the two weeks he had been held captive by the dark wizard. He knew that Harry would be with Bucky now. Somehow, he knew that.

“...Steve? You okay?”

Sam's voice broke through his memories and he realized that his fists had clenched. He seriously wanted to hit a punching bag right now.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Miss, it's really important that we be able to look through the security feeds.”

The woman looked the two of them over and crossed her arms. “You two look familiar. Were you on the news in the past few weeks?”

Steve exchanged looks with Sam, who shrugged, then nodded. “I'm Steve Rogers.”

“He's also known as Captain America,” Sam added.

The woman's eyes widened. “Why do you want to look at the video feeds?”

“We're looking for two friends,” Steve answered. “And we think they came here.”

The woman continued to stare at him then over at Sam, who smiled. “Very well. Follow me. How far back do you guys want to look?”

Steve and Sam followed the woman into the security office and stopped behind her as she pulled up security footage on a computer.

“Two weeks ago after the big...” Steve trailed off.

“Battle? We got a lot of people coming in after that. We guessed that they were avoiding the aftermath of that,” The woman finished, typing in something. The video onscreen changed, pulling up the requested files from the hard drive. The date on the video was from exactly two weeks and just a few hours after the big fight against HYDRA. The video was of the front lobby, showing people coming and going. It was a lot of people, wearing lots of different clothing. He wasn't even sure what Harry or Bucky would be wearing. “Which exhibit did you want to look at?”

Steve was too busy watching everyone come in to listen to Sam's reply. A group of teenagers came in through the front doors, laughing at something. A few minutes later, a group of seniors came in, some with walkers and others with canes. An hour later, two people came in. They both looked like they were older than teenagers but seeing as they were both wearing hoodies, he couldn't really tell. It was just their height that suggested they were older. “Maybe try a few hours later?”

The security woman fast forwarded the video at his suggestion. Steve's eyes caught hundreds of people as the video sped up but no one he recognized. No one that caught his eye for having a metal arm or familiar wild black hair. As the video slowed down, Steve continued to watch and continued to be disappointed. He saw nothing that sparked familiarity, nothing that made his heart clench in his chest like how it did when he first saw Bucky. Or when Harry had kissed him for the first time.

“Maybe it's time to give up?” Sam suggested after a few minutes.

“Try the Captain America exhibit,” Steve said, not at all ready to give up.

“Steve...”

“Sam, just a few more minutes here. Then we'll look elsewhere.”

The woman looked between them then typed in instructions to the computer. Sam snorted and Steve turned to look at him.

“It must be awkward,” Sam explained, grinning a little.

Steve raised an eyebrow.

“Looking at an exhibit of you,” Sam said. “While you're still alive.”

“Not as awkward as having me pass you three times while we were running.”

Sam chuckled and elbowed Steve, who grinned briefly.

Steve turned back to the video, eyes passing by the same two guys in the hoodies. He focused on them as they stopped by the sign that described Bucky. The guys stood there for several minutes before the video shorted out, white light taking the place of the video.

The security woman typed in a few commands to the computer and made a frustrated sound when nothing worked. “There must be something wrong with the file… I've never seen it behave like that.”

Steve started to grin. “Never?”

“Never. I haven't seen this kind of thing before.”

The video came back after a minute, only showing the same crowds and not the two guys in the sweatshirts.

“Where'd they go?” Sam asked, leaning forward to look more deeply.

Steve scanned the area of the camera feed, passing over the guide dog with a vest on before returning to it. The dog, which looked like a german shepherd, was tucked up close to one of the men that he had spotted. Steve smiled and looked closer at the dog and the man right next to it. If he hadn't been looking for it, he wouldn't have seen the brief hint of metal near where the guy's left arm should have been. “Bucky...”

“Your guy has a guide dog?” Sam asked, more than a little confused. “That process takes a long time.”

“That's no guide dog,” Steve replied, smiling wider.

Sam turned to look at him then at the video. “That's...”

“That's Harry.”

Just as Steve was about to turn his gaze away from the video, the dog looked up directly to the camera. And winked.

 

* * *

 

 

**A Week Earlier**

Harry cautiously followed Bucky into the abandoned bank, watching as Bucky raised one of his handguns that had stayed with him. So the other man expected to find other members of HYDRA here. Harry pulled out his wand and took a deep breath, smelling blood, sweat and the faintest hint of tears. He of course smelled other people too and their guns.

The minute that him and Bucky had entered the building, the guards in all black turned to them and raised their guns. But Bucky was not here to come in again, to get brainwashed all over again so he fired. Chaos took over as Bucky fired and shot at each HYDRA soldier, putting them down in one shot each. There weren't a lot of soldiers here so it ended quickly enough after a few minutes.

Harry hadn't even needed to cast protective spells. Bucky was that fast, that good. The other man hadn't even hesitated at all, just killed all of them. Harry's eyes widened at the carnage that had just taken place and felt Bucky's eyes on him.

“I'm not taking offense,” Harry remarked idly, stepping over to where the other man stood at the other end of the hallway. “I understand.”

Bucky stared at him, nodded slightly, and lead the way further into the building. Harry glanced at the dead soldiers before following him. They walked down the hallway and stopped right before a big abandoned, empty, bank vault. Or it would have been empty if not for the few men in white lab coats and the big chair that was surrounded by machinery. Harry stopped and shuddered, remembering the memory that he had taken from the HYDRA soldier.

He quickly stepped up to Bucky's side as the other man pointed his gun at the HYDRA scientists. The men in white coats all stopped what they were doing and that was putting multiple sheets of paper into a shredder. Harry stiffened and saw Bucky do the same. The men waited a second, saw that both of them weren't doing anything, then continued to shred paper. Only they did it quicker.

“Do we want these men alive?” Harry whispered.

Bucky turned to look at him then shook his head. And started to fire. Harry cast a blasting spell toward the men, careful not to hit the desk full of paperwork. The scientists were all dead before they hit the back of the vault, falling to the ground. They had all taken shots to the head, even as Harry had cast the spell.

When Harry couldn't smell or sense anyone else, he took a few hesitant steps over to the chair. He really wasn't sure whether he wanted to breathe in the air surrounding it but he did it anyway. The emotions around the chair almost made him want to puke. Panic and fear were among the loudest emotions. He could also smell sweat and the tears he had smelled earlier originated here. Harry heard booted footsteps and turned to look at Bucky.

“I saw you here,” Harry started, talking in what was almost a whisper.

“Saw me?” Bucky repeated in a dull tone.

Harry studied Bucky briefly, hearing the slight curiosity in his voice. “In a memory from a HYDRA soldier.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes, his metal hand flexing.

Harry stared at the metal arm then up to Bucky's blue eyes.

“What are you? Why are you helping me?”

“I said earlier that I understand the need for revenge,” Harry spoke quietly. “I didn't get… brainwashed like you did. I know that but I did… was taken captive by an enemy and forced to become something. A weapon for my enemy.”

Bucky flinched at the word brainwashed but continued to stare at him. “HYDRA?”

“No, but just as bad,” Harry answered. “I'm helping you because I know how hard it is to come back from it, from this. And because if you were friends with Steve, you're a friend to me.”

Bucky's eyes hardened. “I don't remember...”

Harry raised an eyebrow.

“I want to remember what they forced me to do,” Bucky said, glancing around the room.

“That might mean that they wiped your memories right after each mission,” Harry offered, starting over toward the desk. He looked over the papers that the scientists hadn't yet managed to shred. “Your memories of what happened might come back on their own.”

Bucky joined him, overlooking the papers. “If they don't, could you help me?”

Harry turned to look at him.

“You said you got a memory from a HYDRA soldier,” Bucky remarked.

“That was...” Harry trailed off, feeling his cheeks redden. “That was a byproduct of...”

Bucky raised an eyebrow and started to fidget. “You don't have to do it.”

“I'll help you,” Harry promised. “Now, let's figure out where other HYDRA bases are.”

Bucky grinned and started to flip through the papers.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait!

While they waited for the plane to arrive, Harry gestured to Bucky, to pull over to a corner of the airport. They were at the JFK airport, ready to board a plane to London where Bucky would pick up HYDRA's trail. They hadn't gotten any specific addresses for other HYDRA bases but the two of them had gotten the sense that there were more than a few in Europe. He just figured that HYDRA was more than a little secretive about where their bases were, protecting them from noisy people like the two of them.

Before coming to the airport, Harry had guided them back to his apartment and packed some things. He had also pulled out two emergency bottles of blood, just in case. He wasn't a full vampire so he didn't need to drink blood every day but it would be nice to have them on hand. James had also changed clothes and he hadn't looked like he had really thought about the clothes change. He had changed into comfortable but unrestrictive clothes, looking like he hadn't had the opportunity to pick for himself in a long, long time. Bucky now had on a black shirt and the same pants that he had been wearing as the Winter Soldier.

Harry had figured that it was something, maybe programming for the Winter Soldier. It was probably something simple, like _How to be an assassin 101_ or _How to fit in._

Harry had also left a note for Steve, telling him they were okay.

James turned to look at him, eyebrow raised. As they had gone through the airport, Bucky had stayed just a few inches behind him, looking everywhere and anywhere. With Bucky so close to him, Harry could hear his metal arm flexing each time Bucky was nervous. And that wasn't unusual as Harry was coming to see. Especially at an airport where there were hundreds of people coming and going.

“I need to leave a message for my godfather,” Harry whispered, narrowing his eyes and reaching a hand to the elder wand to cast a temporary ward around them. It hid them from view, made the two of them look fuzzy to everyone else. It also hid their conversation. “Are you okay? I know that's probably a stupid question but...”

Bucky looked like his mind had gone elsewhere, maybe somewhere lost in memories. His blue eyes were distant, not focused.

“I think I had something to do with the president's assassination,” Bucky muttered. He sounded lost, a little confused too. “The memories...”

“You mean, the president that this airport is named after?” Harry questioned, still keeping a low voice. He eyed the two police officers right across from them, by the security check in. The two officers were eyeing Harry and Bucky like they thought the two of them were up to something.

And really, Harry and Bucky were up to something. It just wasn't the business that the police would be looking for. Granted, Bucky was carrying a duffel that had the guns that he had on him from the helicarrier fight. They just were meant for another purpose than what the police thought. Though… maybe he had better put the duffel in his own small, limitless pack that he had spelled to be like Hermione’s bag. He brought out his bag, that held his potion kit, a small muggle first aid kit, spare clothes, a few cooled thermos’ of blood and toiletries for travel, and opened it.

Bucky looked at him, almost wearily.

“To hide it,” Harry suggested quietly. “We had a few people looking at us suspiciously. Your duffel will fit, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He also knew that Bucky had more than two hidden weapons on his person. When Harry had ‘run into’ the Winter Soldier a few months before, the man had reached four three weapons. A rifle had been strapped to his back, a knife or two were strapped to a thigh holster and there were pistols strapped everywhere a weapon could possibly be. If Harry wasn’t absolutely sure that the man wasn’t a wizard, he might have suspected the assassin of hiding weapons under a glamour or an illusion.

Bucky did eventually close the distance between them, leaving a foot or two between them, and lowered his bag into Harry’s though not without a double take at what seemed to be a bottomless bag. Harry watched as Bucky drew back and peer at the crowds of the airport.

“Yeah, I think… I think I killed JFK.”

Harry nodded, flinching inwardly. If he hadn’t managed to get out of Voldemort’s lair when he had, he suspected he would have been put under the most powerful imperius curse and pointed in the direction of the Order. That would have… more than broken him. As it was, the last time he had stayed over at Steve’s apartment, he had had a nightmare about Voldemort and his plans for Harry, had he fallen under his control. “Any more memories coming?”

Bucky stared at him then shook his head, wrinkling his nose a little. Harry grinned at the sight Bucky made as he reached up to tentatively scratch at his nose . It made Bucky look rather cute instead of the intimidating Winter Soldier.

“Do...” Harry trailed off. “When you remember something, does it hurt?”

“Hurt?”

“Yeah, like do you get a headache or something?” Harry asked. “Being… the Winter Soldier would… I guess you would have a higher pain threshold?”

 

* * *

 

 

James nodded. “It hurts a little.”

Harry watched him, green eyes soft with concern and not with greed. There was no unhappiness in Harry due to having an unreliable or malfunctioning weapon. “Okay, tell me if it hurts too much. I have something for pain in my bag. Let me just send something to Padfoot then we'll be off.”

“...Padfoot?” James repeated, feeling something akin to curiosity. Or something like that. It had been a long time since he had been allowed to think about anything other than how to kill someone. Or since he had been allowed to think. “Your godfather's name is… Padfoot?”

Harry grinned at him, shook his head. “No, that's just a nickname. And not one of Tony's either.”

James watched as Harry drew out the stick that he had used to heal his arm. “Is there a name for that thing, other than 'stick'?”

Harry snorted. “It's called a wand. I'm going to… uh. I'm going to cast a spell here, one that will produce light. It's not going to hurt you.”

James nodded, flexing his metal arm. He could still feel people's gazes on them and he itched with the need to get out from public view, leave through one of the exits he had taken note of. There were lots of variables here and some of these people could be HYDRA, could have been his handlers. “I don't… remember any people with your kind of energy before the war.”

“That's because I'm not from around here,” Harry remarked before muttering something under his breath. James watched as the wand lit up then misty white light flowed from the wand, forming into a buck. The big, white, translucent, male deer stood proudly at attention as it surveyed the airport and the people within. “No threat here, Prongs. Just a message.”

“Prongs?” James echoed.

Harry smiled faintly. “My father's nickname. He could turn into a deer, just like I can turn into a wolf. Padfoot for my godfather because he turns into a big, black dog.”

James watched as Harry recited the message, saying something about _I'm leaving the country and don't worry about me._ James raised an eyebrow, trying to remember why that phrase was familiar. Why he had a feeling or… perhaps it was a memory of someone saying that to him a long time ago. But whenever he tried to access his memories, his head hurt. And he didn't want to alert Harry, who may or may not be his new handler, that he was hurt. That never ended well and James, or the soldier, or whoever he was, had learned not to reveal any injuries.

James was drawn back to Harry and the glowing stag when the animal galloped off, sliding seamlessly through the walls of the airport. He could feel the fuzziness of the energy around the two of them vanish and he watched with wide eyes as people spotted the stag. Everyone around them in the airport stopped what they were doing and stared as the glowing stag raced off and disappeared.

“Alright, that's set,” Harry whispered, peering over at him. “You okay?”

“Yes.”

Harry blinked then sighed, gesturing to the check in desk to their left. “Let's go. You fly much earlier? Or can you remember?”

James tilted his head, flexing his metal arm when a group of tourists got too close. He figured Harry must have noticed something because he slowly moved in front of him, blocking the sight of everyone else.

“I… think so?” James tried as Harry led him on. The sun beamed through the glass floor to ceiling windows and he let his shoulders droop with the slightest movement, enjoying the warmth. He surveyed the grounds of the airport that they could see, hearing Harry go to check in at the desk.

 

* * *

 

 

Luckily, Harry was able to arrange for them both to have two seats together and the third seat empty. He didn’t think Bucky would have been able to deal with having a stranger sitting that close to him. Though he didn’t think Bucky was totally comfortable with him, come to think of it. But he would be, eventually.

The plane took off and they were in the air three days after the fight with the helicarriers. They both had decided on going to London and working their way through Europe from there. Most of the papers in the HYDRA vault had been shredded before they had gotten there but Harry had been able to ‘repair’ one sheet of paper that had the location of one base. And that was all they needed.

It had been a little uncomfortable fitting in the plane seat with his wings but he had managed to wrap them up against his back, casting a spell to conjure a wrap around them. He was otherwise wearing a t-shirt and jeans, with a disillusioned wand holster on his left wrist. Bucky had stayed close to him as they walked onto the plane and had picked the aisle seat, letting Harry in first. This was actually the first time he had ridden in a regular airplane; he had been on the Avengers quinjet once or twice and that was much smoother. But at least, he would have time to sleep on this one. And perhaps Bucky would get some sleep too.

Harry turned to look at the assassin, at his rigid body language. Bucky was subtly staring at each passenger that passed him as they went about looking for their seats. Harry didn’t know how long it had been since the other man had gotten some sleep. For all Harry knew, HYDRA had stashed him in the cryo tank whenever he wasn’t being used. He flinched at that word and his stomach roiled around, his heart stopping for a second before starting again.

There had been a tank in the vault that Bucky hadn’t gone near at all and Harry had taken one look and puked in a corner. Just looking at the small, tight quarters in that thing had reminded Harry of living in the closet underneath the stairs. Though he suspected that it had been a whole lot worse for Bucky.

“You could… get some sleep,” Harry quietly suggested, focusing back on Bucky instead of his memories. “It’s going to be a long flight.”

 

* * *

 

 

James turned to stare at Harry and blinked, unsure what he meant. He looked out the plane window again and saw that they were already over the ocean. A vague memory of crossing the Atlantic ocean came into his mind but in the memory, the plane was of older make and was only full of soldiers, instead of civilians. “Am I allowed to sleep?”

Harry paled, his left hand making a motion and the stick that Harry had used earlier popped out. James felt that strange energy again, listened to its distinctive hum as it surrounded both of them and blurred the other people on the plane.

“Did… Do you remember sleeping… before?”

James slowly shook his head. “I remember… loud bells and horns. Sleep is not for machines.”

“You are not a machine,” Harry retorted quietly, narrowing his eyes. “If you’re a machine, then I’m a dragon. You are a soldier, a human being, and soldiers can and probably should get some sleep when they’re tired. I am going to kill whoever did this to you.”

James blinked again. “Dragons aren’t real.”

Harry stared back at him, his lips quirking up into a small smile. “Says who?”

James tilted his head in confusion. His handlers had never talked like this to his knowledge. They never brought the Soldier’s feelings into account.

“Anyway, I was telling the truth about this flight. It’s going to be long,” Harry murmured, as the seatbelt sign went off. “And definitely not as fun as riding my Firebolt but that’s a whole other story. I’ll take watch.”

James was feeling tired, he supposed. After visit to the museum and the vault and the battle on board the helicarriers, he hadn’t gotten any sleep. “What’s a firebolt?”

He heard Harry laugh quietly and then he felt a hand cover his metal one. He flinched and was about to tug his prosthetic arm away when Harry gently entwined their fingers.

“I don’t care about your metal arm,” Harry whispered firmly. “Get some sleep, James. I’ll wake you for dinner.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have created a facebook page for readers of my stories to ask questions, leave comments, anything like that. I will also be putting polls for pairings eventually on there too so feel free to like the page. And I will try my best to post updates on stories too.
> 
> Link here: https://www.facebook.com/molmcmahon/


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